The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-08-14
Frog Culture

BABATARIA FARM, Vermilion Co., ILL.,,
July u, 1887.
Hon. a. II, Musser, Fish Commissioner
Utah Territory.
Dear Sir: Your letter of inquiry,
under date of Salt Lake City, July 4,
current is before me. Thanking Y
friend Moore, of Havre de Grace, MARI =
land, for his partiality in quoting me
as an authority on frog culture.
[ purposely omit all but common
WORDS. as this subject has already been
popularized.
/ will reply to your several questions
as briefly and intelligently as possible.
There Is, so far as L know, but one
s0ritten authority upon frog culture as a
probable employment of labor and
waste places to a profitable end. The
n1erchantable frog, like the the fishes
of the sea-" comes and goes as seasons
and instincts direct his wanderings.
To get that rotund longitude which
makes him toothsome, he must have
latitude equal to his sonorous evening
notes, therefore, to circumscrIbe within
pens, paddocks or terra AQUEOUS
fences our American frog, is to incur
time, labor and expense without COM
mensuTate profit. The suthorlty l
quote is that of NJ. Zol. Brousseau,
Havre, France, reprinted by the
"Canadienne Franchise Onion" Quebec.
However, after liberal subsidy, every
attempt to promote frog culture in
lower Canada has been a failure. And
yet, to-day, on the borders of upper
Canada and along the river St. Clair,
in the sedgy marshes of the Province
of Ontario, particularly above and
below Detroit, the finest frog saddles
Of the world are the reward of the
hunter. Next in commercial value,
yet far in advance of produetiveness
come the marshes of lower Michigan
the Calumet, st. Joseph and Kankakee
streams of northwestern Indiana
From these districts come all our WeS-
tern supply, except a small territory
of bayou and marsh opposite st. Louis
and known as the American Bot
TOM" have 8 farm in st. Clair
County that has st. Louis for market,
and were it not for poachers would
consider it fair investment.
The profitable culture of the frog is
governed altogether by extensive range
of open marsh and ordinary care in
spawning season. To control the latter,
great care is taken in September to
herd" the males and females you
desire to keep over. Always select the
largest and handsomest of each. one
male to ten females. Fence of Is BIZ
% of sedgy marsh not liable TO have
less than 6 feet of water in midwinter.
This will be sufficient for ten families.
After "herding," feed occasional scraps
of fresh meat or bugs until ice forms
and your winter work is done.
In the spring, when the frog makes
his appearance, feed him lightly with
scraps of fresh meat, and when reQetn-
ton begins open the water fence and let
him skirmish. The frog of Commerce
should be not less than tuo years old,
and from that on to tagelue he increas Is
in value. POdcherS and snakes are his
only enemies. When tl0O or more ye,,rs
old, he can protect himself against
snakes, but from the poacher he is never
safe.
Being some what familiar with the
seasons and water courses of Utah.
think there would be little or no oif-
hculty in stocking marshes in lower
Bear, lower Weber and upper Jortan
rivers, with Michigan or Indiana FROGS |
Not with spawn, however, tor no eY
pert can tell the difference in The
spawn OF the rama family. In Angn1t |
live two to six year olds sell in ChIcs.o
at 90 cents a dozen. The natural i,
crease from one family passes con,Dutot,o,
" protected. Respectfully,
T PHocIoS HowARp. ]